Taylor Swift’s extravagant New York City wedding to Travis Kelce took place at Madison Square Garden yesterday – but it wasn’t a picture-perfect day for everyone.
The city was abuzz with A-listers and beyond, including Graham Norton and Gregg James from our side of the Atlantic, and stars like bestie Ed Sheeran, Dakota Johnson, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and Selena Gomez, among countless more.
After intense speculation about the reception taking place at MSG, Taylor and Travis publicly confirmed their nuptials – officiated by Adam Sandler – with the outside of the venue declaring: ‘JUST&T MARRIED!’.
Hundreds of NYPD officers descended on central NYC as part of the behind-the-scenes machine making sure the celebrity wedding of the year went off without a hitch.
But, as anyone familiar with sweltering Manhattan heat in July will know, temperatures climbed to highs of 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), leaving officers working long hours under the pounding sun.
‘It’s the hottest day of the year, and everyone’s on overtime with no breaks in the sun. We’re just looking for shade,’ one anonymous officer told the US Sun.
They added: ‘Everyone’s had to get their own drinks, you’d think they’d hand out beverages to all the workers just because it’s so hot.
‘It’s not her fault that there’s a heatwave, but do something for the people who have to be here and work this because you decided to do this.’
The officer claimed that, due to the wedding coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary celebrations over Independence Day weekend, as well as the ongoing FIFA World Cup, officers have been stretched to their limits to accommodate everything.
‘That’s why some of us have been working over 24, 30 hours in a row with no breaks. It’s a huge inconvenience, not only for us, but for everyone here.
‘You can’t get into the Garden, you can’t use the entrances or the streets.’
Ahead of the wedding, the Blank Space hitmaker and her now-husband donated $26million (£19m) to a range of charities across the US.
The NY Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund, known as Answer the Call, thanked the newlyweds for their $2million donation, something the anonymous officer praised.
It has also been reported that the global pop star is contributing towards part of the workers’ overtime payment.
As for the wedding itself, a few details are starting to emerge of what happened during the reception, including one insider claiming Lena Dunham’s speech left guests gasping with shock.
In her crude remarks, she reportedly said: ‘American football is just straight guys reenacting gay porn,’ dividing the room with its reaction since many of the guests were Travis’s NFL teammates.
Meanwhile, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were notably missing from the festivities.
Once a close friend of Taylor’s, it’s understood distance grew between them following the actress’ legal drama with It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni, which wound up releasing her private correspondence with the singer.
Metro has reached out to Taylor Swift’s representatives for comment.